It should not be overlooked that several weeks ago, the Palestinian Authority — the “moderate” Palestinian Authority that the Bidenites hope will take control of Gaza — yet again honored the mass killer Abu Jihad, who was responsible for the deaths of 125 Israelis. More on this murderer, upon whom honor after posthumous honor has been lavished by the PA, can be found here: “PA names hall after arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, whom it admires for planning murder of 125,” by Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Palestinian Media Watch,
Until Hamas’ massacre against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Coastal Road terror attack was the most lethal in Israel’s history. Fatah terrorists from Lebanon hijacked a bus full of Israeli civilians on vacation and murdered 37, of whom 12 were children. Arch-terrorist Abu Jihad planned and supervised the attack, which was led by female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.
The PA has praised Abu Jihad for orchestrating the murder of at least 125 Israelis, and Palestinian Media Watch has documented how the PA has turned him into a role model for Palestinian society. Posthumously, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded Abu Jihad the Star of Honor.
Abu Jihad’s photograph is posted on the walls of Palestinian towns and in Palestinian classrooms, where the children are taught about his acts of anti-Israeli “heroism.” Streets and squares have been named after him. His exploits, in planning the murders of 125 Israelis, are deemed by the PA worthy of celebration in schoolbooks and on television. Palestinian children are taught to regard Abu Jihad as the best example of a “martyr who never put down his rifle.”
Last week, the PA yet again cemented its view of Abu Jihad as a hero and admirable figure for Palestinians by inaugurating a hall in Ramallah named after him. One of the walls in the hall is adorned with a photo of the arch-terrorist and the Fatah logo, which includes the PA map of Palestine that erases all of Israel under crossed rifles….
PA’s Ramallah District Governor Dr. Laila Ghannam was present at the event…, as was top Fatah official Abbas Zaki…, who gave a speech. Additional Fatah officials were also present…
In other words, a great many Fatah bigshots were out in force to celebrate Abu Jihad.
Those local notables, including at least one Orthodox Christian cleric who ministers to his ever-diminishing flock in the West Bank, were rounded up by the PA to attend the opening to the public of the Abu Jihad Hall in Ramallah.
Do not forget that the Palestinian Authority, which likes to present itself to Western donors as “moderate,” continues to pay large monthly sums to the families of dead terrorists, killed as they carried out their attacks, and to the families of those terrorists who have been imprisoned for terrorist attacks. In both cases, the sums allotted are far greater than what the average Palestinian, either in Gaza or the West Bank, can earn, so there is considerable economic benefit in becoming a terrorist. If you don’t die and are out of an Israeli prison because of one of those lopsided prisoner exchanges, you can boast not about your “martyrdom,” but about your fearlessness in the face of a powerful Israeli enemy, which helped you to withstand the onslaught by the hated Zionists.
Will the Bidenites demand that Mahmoud Abbas remove Abu Jihad’s name from the hall in Ramallah just named after him, and from all other buildings where the PA has chosen to remember him? Will the Bidenites do what Congress has instructed it to do — which is to enforce the Taylor Force Act, by withholding financial aid to the PA as long as it continues to provide terrorists and their families with monthly stipends?
From the photographs of a kindly, smiling, avuncular Abu Jihad, displayed in classrooms across the West Bank, to the photographs of Abu Jihad found on the outside walls of buildings, that offer the sober mien of a warrior unafraid to take on the evil Zionists, Abu Jihad is made more of by the PA than anyone but Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, and Dalal Mughrabi.
Is the Biden administration sure that Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are fit candidates to take over Gaza? The Bidenites continue to flout the requirements of the Taylor Force Act, according to which Congress requires the administration to cease all payments to the Palestinians as long as the PA continues to pay generous subsidies both to the families of dead terrorists and to the families of imprisoned terrorists. The PA still pays those subsidies, but the Bidenites, ignoring Taylor Force, continue to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians each year. If the Bidenites continue to believe that the PA should be put in charge of Gaza “the day after” the war ends, the very least that they can do is to demand two things. First, that the PA must stop its subsidies to imprisoned terrorists and to the families of dead terrorists. Second, the PA has to stop honoring terrorist murderers. That means ceasing to name squares, streets, schools, and meeting halls, like the one just inaugurated in Ramallah, after the likes of Abu Jihad and Dalal Mughrabi, and to remove their names from all the places where they had previously been affixed. Their biographies — ghoulish hagiographies really — need also to be removed from the PA’s schoolbooks. These are not people whom schoolchildren should be taught to admire and to be emulated if, that is, peace between Arab and Jew is the goal.
Forest says
Excellent piece, Hugh. I wish that Jihad Watch were read by all of Congress, reporters and anchors of major news organizations, etc. With the exception of Republicans, a few Democrats, and conservative publications, most of what you wrote is unknown and/or unimportant to much of the American people, news organizations, and much of Congress.
This should be the narrative discussed everyday by everyone — instead of the fiction that the PA are “good Palestinians” worthy of US military training (which has been used to commit terrorist attacks.)
I feel that the burden on Prime Minister Netanyahu will be so much to have to start from scratch, making all of these elementary points to Congress why he can’t just hand the keys to Gaza to the PA, or establish a PA sovereign state in Judea and Samaria, which would lead to a repeat of October 7th, but on a truly existential scale.
It’s just so sad that only us faithful conservatives read Jihad Watch, and most of the rest of the world lives in an information distortion bubble. I feel the same way about National Review — a publication on an extraordinarily high intellectual level, with a tiny readership base compared to the left wing empire of newspapers and magazines.
Perhaps Jihad Watch could partner with other news organizations to have its content read more widely? Fox News? Washington Free Beacon? WSJ? Daily Wire? Because the more frequently and loudly conservative media publish stories that the left wants to ignore, the more the left is forced to acknowledge them — and the more the left becomes discredited by ignoring them.
rick says
Didn’t Obama make the word “Jihad” objectionable to use at best and prohibited or banned at worse, especially when used in conjunction with Islamic terrorism. If pressed he would give the words definition as “struggle” as in a personal struggle – like losing weight.
James Lincoln says
Forest says,
“It’s just so sad that only us faithful conservatives read Jihad Watch, and most of the rest of the world lives in an information distortion bubble.”
I’d say that the typical Jihad Watch reader / poster is more of a MAGA conservative than an “establishment” conservative.
Taffy says
Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazi a/k/a Abu Jihad, was the object of overkill back on April 16, 1988, when a bunch of Israeli commandos organized by Mossad and the Israel military raided his house in Tunis and shot him 54 times. Methinks that any shots over the usual triple-tap were wasted, except to give satisfaction to those that shot him. He was booked to go on a flight to Baghdad several hours later that he never made.
The whole operation is described in detail in “Rise and Kill First,” a book by Ronen Bergman that describes many of the targeted assassinations by Israeli intelligence services. The Israeli Navy coordinating with the IAF, Mossad, army commandos and lookout spies choreographed a perfect operation.
The UN had their panties in a bunch over this assassination, but of course not over Jihad’s bus hijacking and murder spree.
rick says
Of course, Israeli commandos kill the targeted terrorist but not his family. I recall that the wife and children of this terrorist were unharmed. This is in sharp contrast with Palestinian gunmen who make sure to kill family members, preferably in front of their fathers or kill the fathers in front of their wives or children. That brutality never seems to merit a closer look by the Western media which is generally favoring the Palestinian side.
rick says
There is a very good article in the Wall street Journal today July 8, 2024 by Naomi Linder Kahn describing how The PA is actually no difference from Hamas illustrated by the story of a Palestinian killer of 2 Israeli soldiers ( Staff Sgts. Eliya Hillel and Diego Shvisha Harsaj) at a checkpoint outside Nablus. The killer fled into Nablus and gave himself up to the PA and was detained by the PA for only a few hours and then let go. More than a month after the murders this Palestinian criminal, Abeed Shtayyeh, remains free and at large.
This practice by the PA has been common practice by the PA. According to Oslo rules should have turned the accused over to Israel for trial. The truth is that nearly 80 officers of the PA Security Forces have been either killed or arrested while carrying out terrorist attacks against Israelis in the past 3 years alone. The PA itself boasts of more than 2,000 such “martyrs.The PA is as worthless as Hamas to do anything to thwart Palestinian terrorism. And the PA continues its “pay to slay” policy for terrorists including the Hamas Oct 7th perpetrators. The PA has never been a moderating force. It has as much blood on its hand as does Hamas.
somehistory says
mozlums are taught to hate and to murder those they hate. Rape, torture, mutilation and then murder as many as possible.
They view other mozlums as heroes if they maim, rape and murder their way through life, because they are taught to hate and to murder as many as they are able.
There is no difference between the pa, islamic jihad, hamas, hezbollah, iranian guard, al queda, al shabab, isis, boko haram, al nusri, the pakistanis, taliban, fulani, the mozlum brotherhood….
They are all alike….murderous mozlums worshipping satan and carrying out his desires.
There is no “moderate” islam teaching mozlums to be nice, to play fair, to live and let live. islam is a ‘wild beast.’ Its adherents are all taught the same thing.
They may fight each other over territory….as other criminal gangs do….but they are all of the same mind….lie, steal, rape and murder for their false god.
rcik says
Anyone associated with the celebration of this hall – like top Fatah official Abbas Zaki – should be put on a list that would deny them any inrteraction with any American governmental person in discussing Palestinian affairs. Also funding should be cut 10% across the board in US money for any purpose to Palestinians with the understanding that 10 more such “celebrations” honoring terrorists would reduce money to Palestinians to ZERO. Oh we – the US – should turn out eyes away if the Israelis decide to bomb this hall into total rubble.
OLD GUY says
Moderate islam can never exist according to the QURAN.
gravenimage says
Palestinian Authority Again Shows How ‘Moderate’ It Is
…………………………..
No one should be surprised by this. Fatah and Hamas *both* seek the destruction of Israel.